Canberra Foodie Culture
Canberra is often the butt of a number of jokes regarding whether there is anything to do in Canberra or if there is actually any restaurants or entertainment.
In more recent years, Canberra is beginning to come into its own with regards to a food culture. Canberra has the highest number of restaurants per capita of any of the towns in Australia probably thanks to the high number of public service employees and that it is the hub of a lot of business travel.
It finds itself in a relatively fertile area of the country and with relatively small population and urban spread comparatively to other larger cities or State capitals gives it a good proximity to farming land and enterprises making access to these easy.
Visit the local weekly farmers markets will enlighten you to the surprisingly large variety of fresh produce harvested within a short distance of Canberra. A must for a Saturday outing.
Some of the restaurants in the Canberra area have their own restaurant gardens and are very happy and proud to talk about this to their customers.
In more recent times, the number of markets, festivals and other food events around Canberra has increased considerably with a food event or festival at least every month and some that run for entire months at a time.
The climate in and around Canberra lends itself very well to cool climate wines and truffles, which combined make for a great day out and is the inspiration for the truffle festival in the wintertime. The vineyards in the local area are beginning to attract more acclaim with well known chefs matching good quality foods with fine local wines.
Some of these wineries and other food providores tend to working together and help support each other, sharing their wonderful ideas and supporting each other’s businesses helps to build up the atmosphere for Canberra visitors and locals. Many food trails have now been introduced to the Canberra area to allow visitors a more complete experience of seeing the vast array of foods and drinks the area has to offer.
Increasing novel food events such as food trucks and food with fashion events have been introduced recently to give visitors and locals a greater variety in food experiences. Some local wineries have introduced theatre productions teamed with food and wine experiences. The increase in participation of this uniques experience has proven very successful to the crowds of attendees.
Canberra’s proximity to the coastal areas (within 2 ½ hours drive) allows visitors a great fresh seafood experience at the beaches close by combined with the city centre's exceptional variety of food cultures as a must to be sampled. The Alpine area and local orchards extend the variety of food experiencing allowing all different tastes to be catered for.
All in all, Canberra's foodie culture is coming of age, so it may just be time to explore the sights of the nations capital and enjoy the foodie adventures Canberra has to offer.
